--- title: "Build or Bye for developers" description: "Build or Bye has a free, read-only API and an MCP server. They expose the public board, the rules, the pricing and a search over what Build or Bye says about itself. There is no key, no sign-up and no cost." canonical: https://www.buildorbye.com/developers last-updated: 2026-10-15 --- # Build or Bye for developers Build or Bye has a free, read-only API and an MCP server. They expose the public board, the rules, the pricing and a search over what Build or Bye says about itself. There is no key, no sign-up and no cost. ## Quickstart Read the top five builders on the board: ``` curl "https://www.buildorbye.com/api/v1/board?limit=5" ``` Every list answers in the same shape: `data`, `next_cursor` and `has_more`. To read the next page, pass `next_cursor` back as `cursor`. ## Endpoints - `GET /api/v1/board`: builders ranked by money earned from strangers in the last 30 days. Takes `limit` (1 to 100, 20 by default) and `cursor`. - `GET /api/v1/rules`: the 30-day clock, the floors at $100, $1,000 and $10,000, and what counts as money. Takes `section` (`summary`, `money`, `floors`, `bye` or `tasks`) to read one part. - `GET /api/v1/pricing`: what each stage costs, and whether each price is live, planned or draft terms. Takes `stage` (1, 2 or 3) to read one stage. - `GET /api/v1/search?q=batch`: short passages about the program, each with a link to the full page. Takes `q` (required, up to 200 characters) and `limit` (1 to 20, 5 by default). - `GET /api/v1`: a list of everything above. The full description is the OpenAPI 3.1 document at [openapi.json](https://www.buildorbye.com/openapi.json). The API catalog is at [/.well-known/api-catalog](https://www.buildorbye.com/.well-known/api-catalog). ## Authentication None. Every endpoint is public and read-only, so there is nothing to sign in to and nothing an agent can break. See [auth.md](https://www.buildorbye.com/auth.md). ## Rate limits Each client may make 60 requests a minute. Every response carries `RateLimit-Policy` and `RateLimit` headers saying how many requests are left and when the window resets. Over the limit, the API answers 429 with a `Retry-After` header in seconds. ## Errors Errors are RFC 9457 problem details, served as `application/problem+json`: ``` {"type":"https://www.buildorbye.com/developers#error-invalid_limit","title":"Invalid limit","status":400,"detail":"limit must be a whole number from 1 to 100.","code":"invalid_limit"} ``` The `code` is stable; the wording of `detail` may change. The codes are: - `invalid_limit` (400): `limit` is not a whole number in range. - `invalid_cursor` (400): `cursor` is not a `next_cursor` this API returned. - `invalid_section` (400): `section` is not one of the parts of the rules. - `invalid_stage` (400): `stage` is not 1, 2 or 3. - `missing_query` (400): `search` needs `q`. - `query_too_long` (400): `q` is over 200 characters. - `rate_limited` (429): too many requests; wait for `Retry-After`. - `not_found` (404): there is no such endpoint. - `method_not_allowed` (405): the API only takes GET. ## Versioning The major version is in the path, `/api/v1`, and in the `API-Version` response header. New fields can appear within v1, so ignore fields you do not know. Anything that would break a client ships as `/api/v2`, announced on this page. ## Deprecation policy When v2 is announced, every v1 response starts carrying a `Deprecation` header (RFC 9745), a `Sunset` header (RFC 8594) with the date v1 stops, and a `Link` with `rel="deprecation"` to the migration notes. The sunset date is at least 90 days after the announcement. Nothing is deprecated today. ## Writes, retries and long jobs There are none. Every operation is a fast, synchronous read with no side effects, so a retry is always safe. Every operation accepts an `Idempotency-Key` header for clients that always send one; it changes nothing. There are no long-running jobs to poll. Starting a clock or reporting a payment happens in Telegram, by the builder, at https://t.me/buildorbyebot. ## Testing The API is read-only, so production is safe to test against: no call changes anything. The board can be empty or short; your code should handle zero rows. ## MCP server Connect an MCP client to `https://www.buildorbye.com/mcp` (Streamable HTTP, no authentication). It offers four read-only tools, `get_build_or_bye_board`, `get_build_or_bye_rules`, `get_build_or_bye_pricing` and `search_build_or_bye`, plus the same data as resources. In hosts that support MCP Apps, the board tool renders as a table. A second server at `https://www.buildorbye.com/mcp/docs` serves these docs: `search_build_or_bye_docs` and `read_build_or_bye_doc`. Each server's card is at its address plus `/server-card`, for example [/mcp/server-card](https://www.buildorbye.com/mcp/server-card), and both are listed in the [resource catalog](https://www.buildorbye.com/.well-known/ai-catalog.json). ## Terms The API is free. Show where the data came from with a link to buildorbye.com. Board rows are what builders chose to make public; do not use them to contact builders in bulk. The limits and these terms may change; changes are announced on this page. ## Help Send a direct message to [@buildorbye on X](https://x.com/buildorbye).